In what many would believe is a twist of irony, a former hedge fund manager and Harvard Business School grad echoed the message of Occupy Wall Street protesters this week by donning a sign on Greenwich Avenue to protest the way hedge fund manager bonuses are taxed.

Daniel Barach, of Mamaroneck, N.Y., is a portfolio manager consultant who worked for years with a successful hedge fund, but he shies away from questions about his career.

It's the message that's important, according to Barach, and not the messenger.

And Barach's message is loud and clear.

"I'm trying to do my small part to bring awareness to seeking economic justice in America," he said in a phone interview Thursday, one day after walking up and down the Avenue. Barach was speaking from New York City, where he was partaking in the ongoing Occupy Wall Street movement.

"I'm wearing the same sandwich board that I wore yesterday going up and down the Avenue," he said.

Barach wore the sign, which reads, "Stop Tax Breaks For Hedge Fund Managers," as he walked on a dreary Wednesday afternoon with an umbrella over his head in front of many of the high-end stores along Greenwich Avenue, the town's epicenter of capitalism. He was protesting in Greenwich because many of the hedge fund managers who receive enormous bonuses -- which he claims aren't sufficiently taxed -- reside in town, he said.

Barach, who readily admits he's risking his current and future career prospects by protesting, was quick to point out that he's not, in principle, against the concept of hedge funds, which are portfolios of investments, guided by a manager, that use advanced investment strategies to generate high returns.

"My message is not to vilify hedge fund managers," he said. "I don't feel all hedge fund managers should be burned."

Barach simply wants those managers to pay their fair share of taxes on the bonuses they receive, he said. Central to his argument is the so-called "carried interest" tax. Carried interest is the amount of a hedge fund manager's income that stems from his or her performance. While the rest of hedge fund managers' earnings are taxed at standard U.S. tax code rates -- 35 percent or lower, depending on income -- the performance portion of a hedge fund manager's income is taxed at the capital gains tax rate -- only 15 percent, according to International Business Times.

It's one of the biggest loopholes in the country's tax code, according to Barach, and it's a loophole, he said, that's hanging the American people.

"Billions of dollars that could be going to reduce the deficit are going into the pockets of people who don't necessarily need it," he said. "Why isn't it grossly unfair for them to pay only 15 percent? I've always been sure it's unjust policy. People who are making among the most are paying a lower tax on it. It causes resentment and discord in our country."

By specifically addressing certain issues that Barach believes are injustices in the financial system, Barach hopes to bring clarity and focus to the movement of protestors who are rising up around the country. He said his background is largely irrelevant to the message he's trying to spread. It's a message, he said, that is universal, no matter if he were a teacher, a plumber, a college student, or one of the millions of people across the country looking for a job.

"People want to live in a system with more economic justice," he said. "The fact is, the people that are negligent are the elected officials, who can correct this injustice."

Staff Writer David Hennessey can be reached at david.hennessey@scni.com or 203-625-4428.